Hvy.Arty Cannons roar

[Pollaco]

Some of you are familiar with firing civil war cannon, but have you ever fired a 13 inch mortar with a 5 gallon paint can as a projectile? We used the powder unloaded from 6.4 inch shells. The cannon fired across the Mississippi into Louisiana.View attachment 415558

Could some explain what the very last sentence is about."The Powder had been buried in this park since April 1863". Was there a large sum of gunpowder buried there and by whom and why?

 

[James N.]

Could some explain what the very last sentence is about."The Powder had been buried in this park since April 1863". Was there a large sum of gunpowder buried there and by whom and why?

He actually said in the post: "We used the powder unloaded from 6.4 inch shells." And then went on to say that it took the powder charge from one and a half of these excavated shells to make the propellant charge for the paint can projectile. The shells had likely been buried that long - black powder doesn't deteriorate if sealed within a shell and remains volatile.

 

[Pollaco]

My bad, It would have all made more sense( to me) if I had bothered to read the whole thing . Thanks and sorry to have bothered y'all. But it is an interesting article.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

@bdtex has some of the best recent photos of Grand Gulf.

His Grand Gulf photos begin on page # 6:

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/natchez-ms.143793/page-6

 

[Johnny Shafto]

13-inch mortar! I wonder what the neighbors would say if I parked one of these bad boys in the front yard with a few rounds piled up close by.

 

[Pollaco]

13-inch mortar! I wonder what the neighbors would say if I parked on of these bad boys in the front yard with a few rounds piled up close by.

That might depend which direction (or at who) you have it aimed.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I wonder what the neighbors would say

I doubt they would be amused.

Back in the early 1990's, a buddy that at been at Fort Hood during Desert Shield ... somehow smuggled
an artillery simulation device into civilian life.

He got drunk during the 1997 Fourth of July weekend and made it go " BOOM ".

The neighbors were not impressed.

I think the most traumatized that night were two little Dachshund puppies and the family's Grandmother.

 

[Johnny Shafto]

I doubt they would be amused.


Long story short ... back in the early 1990's, a buddy that at been at Fort Hood during Desert Shield ... somehow smuggled
an artillery simulation device into civilian life.

He got drunk during the 1994 Fourth of July weekend and made it go " BOOM ".

The neighbors were not impressed.

If that 13-inch went off in my neighborhood everyone would be impressed. Happy?…maybe not so much. Gee I wish I had me one of those things. To keep everyone on their toes I'd mount it on a turret. "Look honey, he's got that thing pointed in our direction. Guess I better get busy and mow the lawn."

 

[Pollaco]

I read somewhere that Kid Rock has a piece of "enormous Civil War artillery" in his front yard that makes the neighbors unhappy and nervous.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

If that 13-inch went off in my neighborhood everyone would be impressed. Happy?…maybe not so much. Gee I wish I had me one of those things. To keep everyone on their toes I'd mount it on a turret. "Look honey, he's got that thing pointed in our direction. Guess I better get busy and mow the lawn."

Hah !

The worst part was that many of the neighbors thought I was involved.

However, I had no clue what had happened.

But after I realized nothing had really exploded, I started laughing.
That didn't "go over" too well with the neighbors.

 

[UCVRelics]

I read somewhere that Kid Rock has a piece of "enormous Civil War artillery" in his front yard that makes the neighbors unhappy and nervous.

Its just a field gun.

 

[James N.]

My bad, It would have all made more sense( to me) if I had bothered to read the whole thing . Thanks and sorry to have bothered y'all. But it is an interesting article.

It's never a bother to expand on something, especially when it's something that the poster "understands" and may not fully convey to readers less conversant with the subject at hand. Put more simply and to quote John Wayne in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, "Don't apologize - it's a sign of weakness."

 

[Pollaco]

It's never a bother to expand on something, especially when it's something that the poster "understands" and may not fully convey to readers less conversant with the subject at hand. Put more simply and to quote John Wayne in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, "Don't apologize - it's a sign of weakness."

That is one of and probably the only John Wayne quote that I disagree with. Apologizing is far from a weakness, it takes a man to do it.

 

[redbob]

It is never fun to have a round coming down at you, especially one from straight above and from experience I can tell you that just moving a ball for a 13" mortar is a chore; much less loading and firing it-oh my aching back.

 

[BillWright]

Could some explain what the very last sentence is about."The Powder had been buried in this park since April 1863". Was there a large sum of gunpowder buried there and by whom and why?

It was a magazine that the confederate s blew up…most of the ammunition in the magazine were 10 lb Reid's. Plus several 6.4 Reid' which I unscrewed the fuses and removed the powder from the 6.4. I used some of the powder to fire the mortar. The powder had been under the ground in these Reid's from the time they blew the magazine until my crew excavated it

 

[James N.]

That is one of and probably the only John Wayne quote that I disagree with. Apologizing is far from a weakness, it takes a man to do it.

But it's still a funny line - as it's intended to be - within the overall frame of the plot.

 

[UCVRelics]

The cannon fired across the Mississippi into Louisiana.

Did you go across the river and find the paint can? Its over 1.25 miles from where that cannon is to the other side of the river. 2lbs powder Just Sayin.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

It was a magazine that the confederate s blew up…most of the ammunition in the magazine were 10 lb Reid's. Plus several 6.4 Reid' which I unscrewed the fuses and removed the powder from the 6.4. I used some of the powder to fire the mortar. The powder had been under the ground in these Reid's from the time they blew the magazine until my crew excavated it

Was that the remains of the Fort Wade magazine at Grand Gulf ?
Even if not, I'm still impressed that the Confederates dismantled the iron bars from the town jail to reenforce the magazine.

I'm more impressed that jail cell bars remain in 2021.

http://www.civilwaralbum.com/vicksburg/grand_gulf2.htm

 

[BillWright]

Did you go across the river and find the paint can? Its over 1.25 miles from where that cannon is to the other side of the river. 2lbs powder Just Sayin.
View attachment 416331

Was that the remains of the Fort Wade magazine at Grand Gulf ?
Even if not, I'm still impressed that the Confederates dismantled the iron bars from the town jail to reenforce the magazine.

I'm more impressed that jail cell bars remain in 2021.
View attachment 416345

http://www.civilwaralbum.com/vicksburg/grand_gulf2.htm

 

[BillWright]

They did not disassemble the jail…they moved it intact sliding it on railroad tracks that were near the magazine.it was ft wade